Theron c



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TI-IERON C. STEARNS, OF JERSEY OITY,'NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO MARIE LOUISE KELLOGG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DYElNG HAIR OR FUR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,870, dated October 4, 1898.

I Application filed June 5,1897. Serial No. 639,586. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THERON C. STEARNS, residing in Jersey City, Hudson county, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Dyeing Hair orFur, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in dyeing hair, and has reference more especially to dyeing human hair or the hair or fur of animals.

The invention consists in a process of dyeing hair and a dye for this purpose, hereinafter set forth, and more particularly recited in the claims.

Heretofore hair has been dyed by treating the same with an ammoniacal solution of mineral coloring-matter and a mordant, such as pyrogallic acid. Such dyes, however, are open to the objection that the coloring-matter is variable-that is to say, the salts of nickel or analogous metal dissolved in ammonia produce a solution which is of unequal strength at different times owing to the fact that on account of the volatility of the ammonia the constancy of the mixture is affected by changes in temperature at different seasons of the year and by evaporation during a greater or less exposure to the air while mixing or using. Thus, for this and,many other reasons, a dye containing free ammonia will not yield uniform results and will frequently produce green colorations, which are objectionable for obvious reasons. According to my invention, instead of employing an ammoniacal solution, which by reason of the volatility of the free ammonia is not so reliable as might be desired, I employ an aqueous solution of the dye-such, for instance, as an aqueous solution of an ammonio-salt of nickel. I prefer to use for this purpose ammonia-nitrate of nickel, but ammoniosulfate of nickel or other ammonio-salt of that or analogous metal may beused. By means of this aqueous solution I am enabled to produce uniform results and a perfection of coloring that is not obtainable by any other means. When ammonio-nitrate of nickel is used, I preferably proceed as follows: I dissolve nine hundred and eighty-six parts of ammonio nitrate of nickel, Ni(NO 4NH in twenty thousand parts of Water; but these proportions may be varied according to the shade which it is desired to produce. The hair or fur tobe dyed is first wetted with this aqueous solution of ammonio-nitrate of nickel and after a little time is wetted with a solution of pyrogallic acid or other mordant, thereby producing the desired effect. The excess of dye is then washed off the hair. Absolutely uniform results can in all cases be obtained and the coloring is done in a very thorough uniform manner, since no free ammonia is employed, and hence the nickel-salt bath is at all times constant and uniform.

What I claim is 1. The method of coloring human hair or the hair or fur of animals, which consists in dissolving an ammonio-salt of a heavy metal in Water, applying the solution thus produced to the article to be dyed and then subjecting such article to the action of a suitable mordant.

2. The dye-bath consisting of an aqueous solution of an ammonio-salt of a heavy metal and a suitable mordant.

3. The dye-bath consisting of an aqueous solution of ammonio-nitrate of nickel and a suitable mordant.

THERON O. STEARNS.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. MoRsE, MAURICE BLooK. 

